When you die, how much money do you want to have to pay lawyers to wrangle the complications of your estate? How about the IRS—how much of your life’s work would you like to hand over to them? And if given the choice, would you prefer a smooth and responsible transfer of wealth to your [...]
Preparing your business for a successful future often goes hand in hand with preparing your business for a successful sale. No matter whom you sell to—and even if you believe you’ll never sell your business—you should focus on catching Deal Killers. Deal Killers are things that can affect your business’ value and future. Let’s look [...]
Successful business owners often want more than just the maximum amount of money they can get. These owners have deeply ingrained values-based goals that guide why and how they do business. But many of those same owners don’t apply an appropriate amount of weight to values-based goals until it’s too late to achieve [...]
Setting goals is a catalyst for success, especially if you’re planning for the future of your ownership and the success of your business. The strongest goals tend to have five aspects that help you guide the process for achieving them. In other words, when you set goals, you want to set SMART goals: Specific Measurable [...]
For nearly 5,500 years, human beings have written things down. From Hammurabi’s Code and the U.S. Constitution to your personal business plans, writing things down helps people follow rules and best practices, and pursue goals and action items. However, many successful business owners don’t have any written plans they can follow to help them achieve [...]
Planning for a successful future without your business is a smart strategy. One of the traps that business owners commonly fall into as they begin planning for their successful future without the business is seeing what they need to do and trying to do everything all at once. However, much like your business didn’t spring [...]
"All those years of work are thrown away. To ease your mind is that all you can say? But what about that grandson on your knee? Them railroad songs, Tom would sing to me." –Robert Plant Many business owners dedicate decades to making their businesses successful. Far fewer owners plan for how they and their [...]
Depending on what type of business you have, what your key employees are like, the current market, and your array of potential buyers, business owners may have a long list of candidates to whom they might sell their business. One of the first options owners often consider is to sell the business to an unrelated [...]
When planning for the future, you have a wealth of options related to who should continue to run your business. Many business owners’ plans fall short because they are unaware of the many options they have available to them and the pros and cons of each path. One common exit path is a family business [...]
It is safe to say that this year was full of surprises. Some businesses thrived, while in other areas jobs were lost, companies were forced to go under, and we even lost loved ones along the way. Many businesses were affected by the pandemic in some way or another. According to a survey conducted by [...]
